The night wind, carrying the chill of the river, kept blowing down the deck and onto the dock.
Cui Ziqi strode alone against the cold wind, stepping to the sound of cargo ship horns. His trench coat fluttered in the wind, and the streetlights cast long shadows behind him.
Xia Huaidong looked at Cui Ziqi, who emerged from the darkness, a bloodthirsty smile on his cold face, his sharp eyes concealing a murderous intent.
Like a wild beast that has been lying in wait for a long time, just now revealing its sharp fangs.
In an instant, his scalp tingled.
How did picking up this package cause such a commotion with this madman?
"Mr. Xia, why didn't you notify me when you picked up the goods on my turf?"
Cui Ziqi stood under the streetlight, looking down at Xia Huaidong, who was hiding in the shadows.
Sanmen Wharf has been the property of the Cui family for over a century. Due to its remote location, it was not suitable for commercialization, so it mainly operated domestic and international cargo transportation.
Since Cui Ziqi's father took over the Cui family business, the routine cargo transportation here has changed.
Occasionally, when downstream customers had needs, Cui's father would turn a blind eye, collecting huge profits and secretly connecting them with suppliers to transport some illegal goods.
Cui Ziqi was assigned by his father to be in charge of the transactions in the shadows of this dock.
Xia Huaidong was startled, his old face slightly furrowed, revealing a fawning smile.
"Mr. Cui, I've already spoken to your father beforehand. These goods aren't contraband, so you can rest assured."
Cui Ziqi responded with an "oh," her gaze sweeping over the boxes piled up beside her, all coated with wax and sealed.
He spoke casually, "But I think these are all contraband."
Xia Huaidong felt a chill run down his spine and turned his head sharply.
Zuo Cheng led a small team of men, knocked his men to the ground, and seized all the goods that had just been unloaded.
He shuddered, then suddenly stepped out of the darkness, shouting anxiously, "Those are my goods! Stop it, all of you!"
"These are my goods now."
Cui Ziqi spoke coldly.
Xia Huaidong suddenly turned his head, his angry eyes fixed on Cui Ziqi.
The sudden surge of courage born from the impending loss of enormous benefits led him to roar recklessly at Cui Ziqi.
"You're insane! What right do you have to seize my goods? Give them back to me!"
"Isn't it enough that I own this dock?"
Cui Ziqi's extremely gloomy face, with a hint of bloodshed, was striking.
Xia Huaidong's initial surge of courage vanished instantly.
Cui Ziqi bent down, her icy gaze falling on his sallow and wrinkled old face, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.
"This face is not easy to slap."
What?
Cui Ziqi turned to look at Zuo Cheng and beckoned to him with her hand.
Zuo Cheng came over. "Boss, what's up?"
With her well-defined knuckles, she turned and pointed at Xia Huaidong's face, "Slap his face, a hundred times."
Xia Huaidong was baffled, but he was still so angry that his face turned red.
"You're insane! You're a complete madman!"
He turned to run, but Zuo Cheng grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and slapped him hard across the face.
"ah!"
Xia Huaidong was so slapped that he saw stars and stumbled and fell to the ground.
Cui Ziqi squatted down to look at the five bright handprints on his face, nodded in satisfaction, and gave instructions to Zuo Cheng.
"Keep pumping at this intensity."
Zuo Cheng nodded in agreement.
Xia Huaidong quickly crawled to the side, no longer caring about being scared. He cursed Cui Ziqi as he crawled.
"Madman! Murderous madman! What right do you have to hit me? Xia Wan actually fell for a madman like you, you're all madmen!"
When Xia Wan was mentioned, Cui Ziqi thought of the red and swollen scars on her bright face, and his expression darkened even more.
At this moment, Zuo Cheng had already grabbed Xia Huaidong by the collar and lifted him up, and Xia Huaidong struggled continuously.
Cui Ziqi said coldly, "A hundred slaps in exchange for your goods, isn't that a good deal?"
Xia Huaidong slowly stopped struggling.
Compared to the huge profits that the shipment brought him, he felt that perhaps these hundred slaps were nothing.
Cui Ziqi gave a mocking sneer, and Zuo Cheng began slapping his face.
'Slap! Slap! Slap! ……'
The sound of the tide slapped against the deck with the harsh sound of slapping, the rhythm unusually close.
After slapping him nearly forty times, Zuo Cheng said regretfully, "Boss, he's passed out."
"continue."
“He’s old. If you hit him again, he’ll die. After all, he’s Miss Xia’s biological father…”
Cui Ziqi stared at Xia Huaidong's face, which was swollen like a pig's head, for a long time before she looked away in disgust.
"...Send him to the hospital."
"What should we do with that batch of goods?" Zuo Cheng asked again.
"They've already dealt with it. They couldn't even withstand a hundred slaps, and they still have the nerve to ask for the goods?"
Cui Ziqi turned and left the dock.
Zuo Cheng touched his nose, beckoned Xia's men to take the person to the hospital, and then went to deal with the shipment.
——
Xia Wan couldn't fall asleep in the unfamiliar environment.
It was already 2 a.m., and she was still tossing and turning in bed.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I got up and went to the living room to get a glass of water.
The floor lamp illuminated the black leather bag at the entrance, making it gleam faintly. Only then did she realize that it was the bag Cui Ziqi had left for her, which she had dropped here during the day as punishment from the system.
She was curious at the time.
She put down her water glass and went over to pick up her bag.
The black leather bag has a nice texture. It's about the size of two palms, a bit heavy, and bulging as if it's filled with a lot of things.
She couldn't wait to open it.
Inside was a white cell phone (brand unknown), a black card, a key about the length of a hand, and a business card.
The business card had Cui Ziqi's name and his phone number printed in gold foil.
The business card also had the words "Sanmen Wharf" written in large characters above it.
"This method of providing contact information is so cliché. Why not just save it in the phone?"
Xia Wan muttered to herself, then chuckled as she carefully put away the black card, grabbed her purse, and turned to go back to her bedroom.
She couldn't wait to open her phone and call Cui Ziqi using the number on the business card.
But looking at the time, it was 2:45 a.m.
Is it too late?
What if he's asleep?
How about we play it tomorrow?
He already considered her a scoundrel, and disturbing his sweet dreams in the middle of the night will likely further damage her image in his mind.
As she was thinking, her own phone suddenly rang.
She picked up her phone from the bedside table, glanced at the screen, and frowned slightly.
Why is Xia Zhizhi calling her so late?
The moment the call connected, Xia Zhizhi's anxious and flustered voice came through.
"Sister, come to the hospital quickly! Dad is dying!"
Xia Wan: ?
Wasn't the old man still full of energy when she left?
"It was Cui Ziqi who brought people to beat up Dad. Sister, if you are still Dad's daughter, come to the hospital to see him one last time!"
Xia Zhizhi hung up the phone first.
Xia Wan, who originally didn't want to go, changed her clothes and rushed to the hospital after hearing that it was Cui Ziqi who had caused the trouble.
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